Indian Navy chief: second indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC-2) might also be a small, 40,000-tonne carrier - Broadsword by Ajai Shukla

Navy chief says he’s happy with navy’s 17.8% share of defense budget this year

By Vikas Gupta

Defence News of India, 4 Dec 22

Calling the commissioning of India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, IAC-1, on September 2 “a landmark event in the history of the nation and the navy”, the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral R Hari Kumar dropped a bombshell in his usual press conference the day before Navy Day with the observation that the second indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC-2) could be a copy of the IAC-1, rather than the expansive aircraft carrier that was hitherto expected.

INS Vikrant is a 40,000 ton carrier that can carry around 35 aircraft, including helicopters. Successive naval chiefs have publicly declared that INS Vishal, the expected name for IAC-2, would be a 65,000 ton aircraft carrier that would carry 55 to 60 aircraft.

“We are still working on the size IAC-2 should be and the desired capabilities. But, for now, we have put it on hold as we have just commissioned the Vikrant and we are quite happy with how the ship performed during the trials. A great deal of expertise has been gained in the construction of IAC-1. We are seriously considering renewing the order for IAC-1 rather than building IAC-2. This would capitalize on the expertise available in the country and we could reinvest in the economy,” the CNS said.

Admiral Kumar said: “by Vikrantthe commissioning was a manifestation of the sustained efforts of generations of naval leaders – planners – designers – shipyard workers – industry partners – and many others. The ship will remain the torchbearer of Aatmanirbhar Bharat(autonomous India),inspire our future generations towards self-reliance.

Stating that the decision on IAC-2 had not yet been made, the CNS said: “All of this is at the study stage for the moment, we have not yet firmed up our ideas, and we do not ‘We didn’t bring this proposal to the government either.

Kumar said deck-based fighter jets that would fly from the decks of the IAC-1 and IAC-2 were still in the works and would not materialize until around 2032.

He said there is currently a gap in the availability of deck-based fighters because MiG-29Ks purchased by the Navy are in short supply and no new fighters are forthcoming.

“There are two fighter jets that we think are suitable: We have been testing the navy version of the Rafale as well as the Boeing F/A-18 from the Shore Test Facility (SBTF) in Goa. The original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) had brought the aircraft in and performed the tests and submitted the test reports, which are being evaluated. Thereafter, we will take a call on what is in our best interest,” Kumar said.

Navy Budget Satisfaction

After several years of public complaints from navy leaders about the shrinking navy budget, Kumar expressed satisfaction over the current year’s budget allocations.

“The navy’s share of the defense budget this year was 17.8% and, by using it wisely, we achieved a revenue to capital expenditure ratio of 32:68% – giving us the flexibility to continue with our capacity development plan,” he said.

By promoting self-reliance and technological development, the Indian Navy is well established on the path to budget optimization, Kumar said.

Project 75-I

The Navy chief did not sound optimistic about Project 75-I, the name given to the construction of six new, “air-independent propulsion” (AIP) submarines, which allows a submarine to sailor to remain submerged for up to 10 to 14 days. This is far greater than the 24 to 48 hours that conventional diesel-electric submarines can stay underwater.

“As for the 75-I project, it is a complex [acquisition] process: the Strategic Partnership (SP) model. It is a new way to develop the indigenous capacity of our private industry. So there were a lot of challenges and there was a bit of a delay,” Kumar said.

He explained that the foreign technology partner, as well as the Indian strategic partner (SP), must clearly understand their roles and responsibilities.

“The IAC (Indian Candidate Company) as well as the equipment manufacturers who join them, their apprehensions must be addressed. This is a new area for people involved in procurement. Companies had a number of questions. These issues are being addressed and we hope to be able to move forward in a few months,” the CNS said.

Agnipath

Kumar said the Navy is moving forward with the implementation of “transformational change” which would come through Agnipath – the new short-term recruitment model that is being implemented in the Army, Navy and Army. air to reduce pension budgets.

“Implementation of Agnipathhas been a much needed transformational change. We have already inducted our first batch of Mohawk– made up of 3,000 recruits currently in training at our training base – INS Chilka. Importantly, this batch of Mohawkincludes 341 female trainees – again a transformational step,” the CNS said.

While the Navy already has female officers serving in frontline units, the Agnipath program will ensure that they will soon be joined by women of all ranks.

Theatricalization

Asked about implementing the program to transform 17 single-service theaters into about 4-6 tri-service theaters, the Navy chief said it was “something that will take a limited amount of time.”

He said studies had been commissioned earlier on transforming the three services into tri-service theater commands.

“All these studies have been done and submitted. Then we had the unfortunate disappearance of [former CDS] General Bipin Rawat. But now sessions are being conducted with departments on the basics of dramatization and how to move forward. The work is therefore in progress and we hope to see progress in the months to come.